Hijo De La Luna Lyrics in English Mecano
Menguar means "to wane" or "to diminish," a verb most famously used to describe the moon's phases. It's a key word in this song's hauntingly beautiful final image.
The lyrics say, "Y, si el niño llora, menguará la luna para hacerle una cuna" (And if the child cries, the moon will wane to make him a cradle). This poetic line transforms the moon from a celestial body into a loving mother, creating a powerful and unforgettable ending to the tragic legend.
“Hijo de la Luna” wraps a centuries-old legend in shimmering electronic sounds, inviting us into a world where desire, superstition, and tragedy collide. The lyrics recount the story of a gitana (Roma woman) who begs the full moon for a husband. The moon agrees, but only if she receives the woman’s firstborn child. When the baby arrives with pale skin and gray eyes - clear signs that he belongs to the moon, not to any earthly father - suspicion and jealousy erupt. The child’s presumed father, feeling betrayed, turns violent, and the haunting chain of events ends with the baby abandoned on a mountaintop.
From that night on, folklore says every full moon glows brightly to comfort the lonely hijo de la luna, and it wanes whenever the child cries so that its crescent can cradle him like a silver cradle. Mecano’s tale blends romance and fatalism, reminding listeners of the price of bargains with forces beyond our control, the destructive power of prejudice, and the eternal tenderness of a mother’s love - even when that mother is the moon itself.
